Premier League: Harry and Haaland face off in must win derby

THE Manchester derby is always a highlight for any football fan. But rarely does its outcome play a crucial role for both teams’ season. But a win in tomorrow’s derby is arguably one of the most important results for both sides, after rather indifferent starts to both their respective campaigns.

The honours from the derbies were shared last season. Back in January, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored for the Red Devils in a late, and for some City fans a controversial, 2-1 win against Pep Guardiola’s side. That gained a measure of revenge for the 6-3 humiliation they suffered at the Etihad Stadium the previous October.

In a strange position to be in for a side with the reputation of Man United, if they can manage a win tomorrow it will be the first consecutive victories at home in league derbies they have managed since winning three in a row from 2008/09 to 2010/11.

So, how tomorrow’s match will play out, may well depend on how the matchup of City attacker Erling Haaland plays out against his marker, United fullback Harry Maguire.

Goal rush

Haaland has been the darling of Man City since joining the club last season, racking up goal-scoring records for fun. And while, by his standards, he hasn’t been as proficient so far this season, recent games have indicated that he is starting to get back into his best poaching form.

Two goals against Young Boys, midweek in the Champions League, and a vital winner against Brighton last weekend put an end to his mini drought of four-games without putting his name on the scoreboard.

The hard-fought win against Brighton meant City avoided three straight league defeats. A statistic one would have thought inconceivable at the start of the season.

In reality, the continuing injury of playmaker Kevin de Bruyne and the departure of former captain Ilkay Gundogan may be playing a bigger factor in City’s patchy form this season than just Haaland missing the target in a couple of games.

City may be far more than just Erling Haaland, but the thought that the Norwegian striker might be hitting a purple patch will still be a worry for all other sides in the league.

The unenviable task of halting Haaland tomorrow falls on the shoulder of Harry Maguire, who is enjoying a recent renaissance to his own playing career.

Hero to zero and back again

Heralded at the Virgil van Dijk of Man United after his £80m move to Old Trafford, Maguire saw a brief period of competent defending, that somehow quickly washed away when he appeared to lose confidence, perpetuating further poor performances and ridicule from the terraces and pundits.

At the start of this season, one would be forgiven for thinking that Maguire’s days at United were numbered. But credit to Maguire, he has turned things around and seems to have rediscovered some of the form that saw him bought as the most expensive defender in Premier League history.

A man-of-the-match performance against a battling Sheffield United side last Saturday, was followed by an excellent and hard-working effort shown against Copenhagen on Wednesday, topped-off by him heading home the winner, even though it would take keeper’s Andre Onana’s 97th minute penalty-stop to secure the full points for the Devils.

It’s hard not to be happy for Maguire, from superstar potential to a dead and buried career, booed by his own English fans while playing for his country must have been unbelievably hard on a confidence already wavering. Fair play to him, it looks like he has navigated a way out of his desperate situation and an accomplished performance against the City hitman would do wonders for his rehabilitation.

Like so many things involved with the Premier League, the hype surrounding Harry Maguire’s talent when he arrived at United was way overplayed, as was the speculation on his demise. The truth, like with so many things probably lay somewhere in the middle. Is Harry Maguire a superstar defender? Probably not. But he has shown, that given time, he can be a very effective performer in defence and is still able to pop up for a goal or two when needed.

The outcome from the confrontation between these two, Haaland and Maguire, may well be a defining moment in tomorrow’s spicy derby encounter.